Yellowstone's East Entrance Opens on Time

Yellowstone's East gate opened as scheduled on Friday, much to the relief of many in Park County.

The Park Service originally delayed plowing the roads into the park because of federal budget cuts forced by the sequester. Under the NPS plan, the park would have opened two weeks later than usual.

The decision sent shock-waves throughout Park County, most of which is dependent on tourism revenue from park visitors. Officials in Cody said the delay would have cost the city millions of dollars in tourism revenue.

Working with the Cody area, Governor Mead then approved the use of WYDOT crews to plow the roads on the condition if communities around the park paid for it. The Cody Chamber of Commerce then lead a fundraising effort and in just two weeks collected over $100,000 to pay for the plowing.

"There is a lot of pride in knowing that we were able to collectively, in concert with WYDOT...the governor, the county and the city, and the local business community really pulling together," said Cody Mayor Nancy Tia Brown. "There's something about that that makes for a good, strong bonding of a community."

The Jackson community also raised enough money to open the South entrance into Yellowstone on time. That gate will open on May 10th.

Yellowstone is losing nearly $4 million from its budget in the federal sequestration process.